December panic in full swing - escape holiday madness with a little dancing. Plus don’t forget our holiday Lap Dance workshop!

Written By 1989 Pole

About how I feel about getting into the holiday spirit. I just rediscovered this photo frolic we did last year. More pictures at then end!

I🎄 Finding Joy Amid the Holiday Hustle 🎄
I’ll be honest: the holiday season can feel overwhelming. While I love celebrating Christmas itself, the gift shopping and endless prep can be exhausting. I’m already dreaming about the fresh start of 2025 and all its unblemished promise.

My favorite part of Mona’s Belly Dance classes is when she announces ‘just dance’ and we all try to follow her moves. Yesterday I decided to focus less on trying to copy her exactly and more on just letting the music flow through my arms and be in the moment. It was lovely. Dance is more than just exercise, its also a whole person experience. I could feel the stress melting away with the music and little sparks of joy as I just existed in the present.

If you are feeling overwhelmed you can always escape for an hour of dance, or even our low-key stretching class. You will feel refreshed and your body will thank you. Bonus: it does burn a lot of calories.

REMINDER: Our next Falls Dolls planning meeting is this Saturday at 11am. If you want to be involved in our burgeoning Dance Troupe sign up at https://1989pole.com/fallsdolls More info coming soon. We hope to have our first show in APRIL.

🎁 December Highlights: Escape the Stress with Dance!

✨ Lap Dance Workshop – NEXT FRIDAY
Bring your partner for a fun and low-key evening learning a playful lap dance routine. Feel free to dress up in your favorite Santa’s helper outfit for some extra holiday cheer! No stress here—chair routines are beginner-friendly, with plenty of support from your chair and partner.

Class is half full. Grab a spot before they are gone!

☃️ Daytime Classes Paused for December
With the holiday season in full swing, I’m taking daytime classes off the schedule for December. Don’t worry—they’ll be back in January as soon as the kids are back in school!

Private Lessons Still Available:
Want to stay active or get a head start on your goals? Book a private lesson:

  • $30 for 30 minutes

  • $50 for 1 hour

Perfect for individuals or bring a buddy for no extra cost. Schedule through the app or contact me directly to reserve a time.

✨ 1989 Pole Moves & Progressions: From Total Beginner to Higher Beginner! ✨

I put a copy of my total beginner moves into an earlier Newsletter. However in my Level 1 classes I generally draw from both my total beginner list and my higher beginner list. Here are both together! This is a great checklist for progressing through Level 1 moves.

Disclaimer - Pole names are all over the place. I mostly use what we use in class, which is a mix of American, Australian and British terms. 😬 My first certification was through Cleo’s Rock and Pole so I do lean Australian (all hail Jamilla!) but also Scorpio and Gemini confuse the heck out of me so I use Inside leg hang (Scorpio) and outside leg hang (Gemini). If anyone comes up with a mnemonic to remember those please tell me!

For looking up moves I like https://polemovebook.com/

For the semi-official move library with competition points see http://www.polesports.org/free-videos/pole-sports-code-catalogue/

🎶 Dance Moves

Transitions and stylizations that add flow and musicality to your routines. Perfect for expressing yourself to the beat of the music.

  • Beginner:

    • Pole Walk

    • Simple Direction Changes

    • Simple Arm Motions (Hair and Body Touching)

    • Hair Toss

    • Body Waves

    • Figure 8/Circles with Hips

    • Booty Petals

    • Basic Pirouette (Full and ½)

    • Russian Pirouette (Two Feet on Ground)

    • Sweeping Back Step (Rond de Jambe)

    • Sweeping Direction Changes (Rond de Jombe)

    • Hip Bumps

    • Leg Kicks and Prances

    • Fan Kick Motion Without Lift

    • Heron Hooks (Back and Forth, from dip turn)

  • Higher Beginner:

    • Leg Waves

    • Figure 4 Pirouettes

    • Leg Stylizations in Pirouette (Passe, Fouetté)

    • Away-Turning Pirouettes

    • Fan Kicks

    • Forward and Back Leans/Squats in various grips (strong hold, bracket hold)

    • Leg Circles (Rond de Jambe) to Sits from standing

    • Fan Kick to Sit

    • Leg Thread-Throughs

🌪️ Spins

Moves that use the pole to generate rotation. A mix of static and spinning techniques.

  • Beginner:

    • Dip Turn/Momentum Turn

    • Princess Spin

    • Angel Spin (Lords-a-Leaping)

    • Knee Spin

    • Gallop Spin

    • Mermaid Spin Down

    • Back Hook Spin

    • Front Hook Spin

    • Fireman Spin

    • Fire Lady Spin

    • Carousel Spin

    • Fireman Spin-Up

  • Higher Beginner:

    • Chair Spin

    • Hollywood Spin

    • Direction Changes While Spinning

    • Cradle Spin (Tuck Spin/ Jamilla training)

    • Cradle Spin-Up

    • Twizzle

    • Backwards Hook and Roll

    • Pencil Spins (Facing Pole, Forward/Backward)

    • Diamond Rolls on the Floor

    • Cradle/Jamila Stand-Up

    • Forward and Backward Attitude Spins

    • Reverse Grab Spin

    • Front Hook with Outside Leg Whip Around

    • Princess Spin with Elbow Hook

    • Falling Lady Spin Down

📸 Tricks/Poses/Shapes

Static or motion-based positions that make for striking visuals. Great for photos and adding dramatic flair to routines.

  • Beginner:

    • Leg Hooks (Both Ways = Front hook and Heron hook)

    • Squats/Plie on Both Sides of the Pole

    • Basic Back Bends/Arches (With or Without Slides)

    • Pole Sit (Feet on Floor/ Pole in Crotch Pose)

    • Fold Over One Leg Pose

    • Shoulder Slides (Various Leg Positions)

    • Carousel Kick/Climb Prep

    • Pole Sit (Feet Off Floor)

    • Basic Lunge Stand-Up from Kneeling on Floor

    • Kneeling Poses

    • Lunge Poses

    • Bridge Grinds (Kneeling or on Back)

    • Burlesque 'Bevel' Poses

  • Higher Beginner:

    • Single Pole Climb

    • Climb into Sit

    • Side Climb

    • Remove Contact Points in Sit (Swan, Snake, etc.)

    • Long Sit

    • Pole Plank Sit

    • Jasmine

    • Climb into Jasmine

    • Genie from Floor

    • Hello Boys/Wrist Sit

    • Jamila

    • Figure Head/Hood Ornament

    • Cross Knee Release

    • Star Gazer

    • Martini

    • Jasmine descent to Outside Leg Hang

    • Elbow stand/Headstand to Pole

    • Kick into Basic Invert/ Inverted Crucifix

For some Holiday Cheer here are Sarah Kate and I play acting elves at Alley Cat Last year. Photo credits to Tim Nyberg @grumpgrump.photo on IG






1989 Pole https://www.1989pole.com
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Full week of classes before Thanksgiving Break. plus BLACK FRIDAY/Christmas Shopping guide !